Thursday, August 28, 2014

This is very refreshing. A method of donating money for a good cause, allowing one community to strengthen while helping support another community in need.

As seen on the side of this blog under superior sources, Tome To The Weather Machine has clearly been there from the start. The person behind the blog, Ryan Hall has also created a music label called Heligator Records. This is a digital download only label with a wide array of artists. All proceeds from the downloads go to the Malindza Refugee Camp Library in Mpaka, Swaziland.

Clipd Beaks is the fourteenth release from Heligator Records. The sound is a definitive result of a curated style of music, finely polished and presented. Not that Clipd Beaks is that old, just their sound could be lost anywhere in time and be relevant at that moment. With this single release for Heligator Records, FKWRK starts of with some resemblance to "I Dreamed I Dream" of the first Sonic Youth album. The song changes immensely over its duration and ends with fervor and drive, an apogee of musical culmination.

Help support the library in Mpaka, Swaziland. Download the song for one dollar. If Clipd Beaks isn't your sound, check out Heligator Records for something you are in tune with.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Originally recorded in 1984, this album has been remastered by James Plotkin and re-released by Students of Decay. Consisting of two tracks, one per side "Journey To The Light" is a completely mesmerizing float above your body.

Thinking about when this was released, "New Age Music" as it was called, was completely uncool for the younger generation at the time. Now 30 years later, many of the so called "New Age" records are being found again by a drone based, ambient guitar, synthesizer group of vinyl enthusiasts.

So much music falls to the ground silently over time. Buried by even more falling music. Some of it is raked and rediscovered, because there really are gems covered under the massive pile of forgotten sounds. For some re-releases I have read, "this was really good but just not given the proper promotion at the time". This is only a modern marketing scheme portraying the weight and shimmer of onyx chess pieces. Labels like Students of Decay are not re-releasing this and trying to sell with explanations of not being properly promoted. Mark Banning's "Journey To The Light" has been rediscovered, re-released and sold on the merit of feelings it embarks upon the listener. Students of Decay has found relevancy with today's taste and brought forth beautiful sounds for listeners of all ages.

Of the two tracks on "Journey To The Light", Everlasting Moments fills side A with a firmly balanced flow of subtle sounds. Swaying synthesizer holds the piece, releasing at times to then be carried by guitar and zither. The underlying current of the synthetic drone is always present as is the binding base. Side B titled A Sea of Glass is a more meditative en devour resembling tambura and sitar being warmed up by ageless Indian raga masters. There is a carefree playfulness being conveyed, envisioning a solitary walk among darting dragon flies in an ancient garden.

This was purchased directly from the amazing Students of Decay label. Mark Banning's splendid composition is still available along with many other artists and their superb works.

Monday, August 18, 2014

It has been a about a year since the last Cliffsides release on Hooker Vision and when Tranquility Tapes revealed the new double cassette by Cliffsides titled Headspace, making a purchase was an understood endeavor. This is an example of how outstanding labels make great choices when it concerns what limited resources they have. Tranquility Tapes is a leader in the world of beautifully done cassettes.

Headspace is a perfect name for this release. With an hour of sounds on each cassette, there is enough diversity to fill all of the space in your head. The first tape "The Fool" is a solid embodiment of synthesizer mastery. You can hear both the past and the future, a soundtrack for a science fiction movie classic or a gripping suspense thriller. There is drift on the ocean and fast paced hover craft cruising. "The Fool" could easily be a timeless synthesizer masterpiece on it's own without the second cassette.

Making this even more spectacular is the second long offering called simply "The Universe". Expansive particle motion by massive galactic bodies. This could be an environmental recording made by dropping a microphone somewhere between two passing galaxies. Thoughts on the first listen to "The Universe" were of artists like Vidna Obmana, Alio Die and Steve Roach. Cliffsides' Ryan McGill has a little more playfulness than those pioneering ambient masters and this is refreshing. The music of "The Universe" is a five star output now. The future will only be old news after you listen.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

If you are ready for a truly artistic romp through musicians on the fringe of the unheard, click over to this bandcamp link and read no further. How do you cleverly combine a myriad of different bands and musicians to create the sticky threads binding an entire album together? Memorials of Distinction will capture you and slowly weave the sound into your ears.

Titled "How To Organise Your Life & Get Rid Of Clutter", 8 different groups and 16 songs have been woven together like a fine tapestry. Intelligently united using an old self help tape, the entire listen is completely entrancing. The instructions for self help are blended in perfect amounts in between songs. There is just enough of the lecturer to make you want to hear more. I drift while listening. Intrigued by fantastic tips on making my own life less cluttered and then being relieved with music. Saving me from the revelation of how messy i really am. From talk of floppy discs on computers, i would have guessed this self help tape was made in the late eighties. Sure wrong on this, for you roman numeral fans the date on the original tape is MCMXCVI.

The ground the music covers is vast, but with each artist contributing two tracks there is continuity. The first listen is enjoyably perplexing. After immediately liking Mewlips, an individual with a magically different expression, i thought where did this come from? How did Memorials of Distinction procure these completely unknown entertainers? I went back to the bandcamp site and read the notes. Here each performer is described more in detail, so there is explanation of origin. In the following listens my attention was drawn to Sofia Deville, Porridge Radio and Estamos Fritos three very spacey artists gluing in a relaxing vibe. Mad Kid Library Trap will completely command your ears with a warped punk output.Smiling Disease is absolutely unique with a sound completely modern in a parallel dimension. The last two artists Lizzard Bleach and sAtAnic rituAl Abuse give the tape the noise it needs. These two artists exist on the periphery, entering music by colliding sound and ideas.

These tapes are available at the bandcamp site. There were only 50 self help tapes to start with, so if you miss out there will never be any more!

I thought the name of the lecturer was really unique and still would like to find out more about the tickler system.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Woodbines & Spiders (NW) (N)(E)(S) & (SW) (E) (S) The directions are in the title and i am still lost. Hopefully by the end of the record there will be a guide point useful as reference. Most likely not though. Floating on side Bb, 01 Gas Suite C Radiation 60. Looking for a place to set down.

There are ghosts in these grooves. Strange noises clanging, popping, dinging, whaaaing, and voices??? The background is filled with an eerie tone like old heavy dusty drapes. Then finally something all accounts is music. Recognizing sounds gives relief to the audio journey. The music leaves and now the dwindling radius of the record has become more desperate.

This lp is so thick with brain bending audio. Jon Brooks (The Advisory Circle) and Ian Hodgson (Moon Wiring Club) have combined to create to create a modern journey through the imaginations shared by Scout, Jem and Dill. Perfect amounts of everything from fun to cracked tombstones behind the old house.

From creation through production to vinyl offering, this record took seven or eight years to make. Everything about this LP is a mystery. If you want something really different and made superbly, Woodbines & Spiders will take you there.